Strange Remnants
by Steven Pogi
Summary: In this bloody world, the most terrifying and horrible things aren't the Grimm. The true horrors lurk within the shadows, hide just in plain sight, or even walk among us like ordinary people. The worst part is you'd have no idea until one shows up right outside your doorstep (crossed with Trevor Henderson characters).


**West of Anima**

What were once buildings are now reduced to rubble and ruin, chunks and pieces of stone towers and wooden houses are scattered across the dead grass along with dust and ashes. The ground was stained with dried blood yet not a single corpse was present.

At the center of the small town stood a man. He was tall and was slightly muscular, had fair skin, short stubble, fairly ashen hair, and hawk-like eyes. He donned a black cap and was clothed with a dark brown coat, black shirt, gray cargo pants, dark boots, leather gloves, and shades. The man held a long, hefty, and coal-black cleaver, lined with rows of sharp, jagged fangs and a moderately small sickle at the end. There were also two buttons found on the weapon's lengthy hilt, a trigger underneath the guard, and a sharp metal spike poking beneath the pommel.

Because of his attire and weaponry, one may assume that he was a Huntsman. Although their assumption would be correct, his job is a bit more complicated than that. He is an agent of The Foundation, and his work involves the investigation of possible anomalies in a selected zone.

Marlon Farran continued to scan his surroundings and inspect the fallen buildings, before moving on and continued exploring the wreckage. A few dozen minutes passed, and as time passes by, his frustration progressively increased. Whenever his eyes noticed a potential clue or lead, his inspection would always be cut-short and hit a dead-end - sometimes literally.

Whenever he walked by a heap of rubble, he would stop to approach it then closely examine the debris and occasionally dig through it. Time goes by once again, and the agent became more and more desperate. He'd often retrace his steps to re-check an area or inspect every single corner. Despite all that, however, he always came up empty-handed.

The dreary atmosphere the gray sky gives off, along with the deafening silence, doesn't improve his situation either.

Nearly half-an-hour had gone by, The Huntsman's eyebrows furrowed and his legs slightly ached from all the walking he'd done. Eventually, he came across a large rock that's big enough for him to sit on. He sat down and pulled out a radio transmitter from his pouch.

"TOC, this is Agent Gray, there are currently no indications of any anomalous activity in the area. Over."

"Copy that, please proceed with your recon mission. Over."

He noticed a peculiar object just inches away from him, so he reached his arm out to grab it. It was a small stuffed bear that was in rough shape. It was covered in filth and had several tears across its surface, with its stuffings spewing out of it.

The agent frowned and gave a woeful sigh. He read the reports about Higanbana, it stated that not even a person or body was recovered. He felt sorry for its former residents, how they all got caught up in such an unavoidable mess.

Well, tragedies and loss of lives happen. It always does and it happens to everybody eventually, though it still doesn't make it less of a depressing thought to him.

So he stood up, placed the toy on the rock, and glanced up at the dull sky with a determined face, filled with newfound resolve in continuing his search.

. . .

. . .

He heard something, it was a faint yet distinguishable ringing that echoed throughout the town. The agent tried to focus more on the sound before he jogged towards the origin of the noise.

He stopped at a dirt road extending through the thick woodlands. The noise had gotten louder once he approached the road. It sounded like a... siren alarm. Was there a village in need of help? If so, what sort of trouble were they in? Had the perpetrator found yet another victim to its mass slaughter?

So many questions, though Agent Marlon knew there was only one way to find out.

"Agent Grey to TOC, permission to investigate disturbance? Over."

There was a slight pause. "Permission granted, please take extra precautions. Over."

"Affirmative. Over." He then placed it back inside his pouch.

So he pressed onwards, venturing deep into the great unknown.

* * *

The bushes and branches rustled quietly in the shade and water trickled and splashed from a nearby creek. Enormous trees towered menacingly over the agent. Their shadows stretched far and wide, enveloping most regions in complete darkness. The trees' long, twisted branches swayed from side-to-side as if they're ready to reach out and drag him into the abyss. The only source of light was the ray of sunlight pouring through the countless leaves, making the path dimly-lit.

Despite the ambiance and the siren booming from the distance, the forest was eerily quiet. Not a single living thing had stirred, not Grimm nor birds. Though the Huntsman can feel that _something _is silently stalking him from within the inky blackness. If he just sneaks a glance over his shoulder, he'd catch them staring at him from behind the trees. It was just only a matter of time.

With each step he took, this looming dread continued rising inside him. He could hear the snapping of twigs from afar and see shadows dancing at the corner of his eye. He paused to analyze the environment around him, yet he was met with only more shrubberies and lumber.

Marlon inhaled deeply, gripped his weapon tightly, and walked at a steady pace.

As he made his way, a sudden epiphany struck his head.

He had been walking for over five minutes ever since his trek to the woods began... but it was only until now that he'd notice that he hasn't gotten any closer to the source of the alarm. Sure, it was loud yet he can tell it was still far ahead. It almost sounded as if the alarm was...

He immediately froze solid, cold sweats ran down his forehead, his heartbeat raced rapidly... and the siren alarm suddenly stopped.

The agent hastily pulled his radio transmitter out of his pouch and then swiftly opened it.

"TOC, this is Agent Gray. Anomaly has been verified but not yet identified. Subject's threat level is unknown. Over."

"Roger that, we will be deploying a few extraction and containment teams to your location. P̸l̵e̸a̶s̷e̵_e̸_**_ẹ̴̇̈́͆x̷͚̤͋͋̋t̷̻̘͓͎̋̾̊r̷̙͊a̷̯̜̍̽̑͝c̵̬͗̆t̷̹̟̦̝͂̏̉i̴̭͒͆̊͛ǫ̸͕͔̽͋̃͝n̷̨̪̞̽ͅ ̶̨̱̠̎͂́͗ą̶̮̤́n̵̰̥̝̆͒̈́d̶̵̩̻̹̳̜̜̳̉̓͝ c̴̛̮̃̃̕ǫ̶̘̾̈́n̷̺̂͗̄c̵̨̮̘͓̾ǫ̶̫̫͂ͅn̷̘̤͛̔͘ͅc̸͎̻͓̬͗͊̚o̶̢̹̘̓̌ņ̸̙̝̫̿̈́͝ņ̶͚̘̪̺̳̦̾̊̃̾͌͘c̵̡̬̹̼̺̝̊o̵̙͓̙͓̬͔̍̃͘n̵̨͈͋́̐̓n̷̗̭̫͇͕̱̍̌͗̅͜ę̷̬͈͒̊̀͂͝ṟ̶̱͎͒ì̶͍̯͙̘̺̎̃ś̵̪́́̍̍̒̕d̷̨̩̟̝̜̥̃̎̋á̶̭͎è̴̦̞̰̰͇̈́͝h̷̲̳͔̞̕n̴͔̬̘̘̟͖̓͝è̴̡̘̙͋̑̓͝ṛ̷̥͈̈́͛i̸̢̦̾͐̔s̶̺͕̔͗̎͒_**"

The radio continued blaring out loud garbled static and gibberish before the transmission had finally disconnected itself.

The bushes and leaves ceased its rustling as the wind went still, the flowing waters of the creek became inaudible, and only this deathly silence lingered in the air.

. . .

. . .

. . .

A monstrous arm shot out from beyond the woods and took hold of him. The arm was mummified, with elongated, bony, and crooked fingers paired with long, dagger-like claws. Its color and texture were similar to that of rotting wood.

Despite its frail-looking hands, its grip was strong and firm. To Marlon, it felt like he was being constricted by two King Taijitus. If it weren't for his resilient Aura, he feared it would have done more than just force all the air out of his lungs.

He squirmed and wriggled to escape even as the hand continued to squeeze and squeeze tighter. The arm then swiftly pulled the Huntsman deeper into the forest. He slammed into several trees and boulders, which damaged his Aura, as he was dragged farther and farther.

He eventually arrived at his final destination, and the arm then lifted him into the air to meet it. He was greeted by this... abomination. It was an emaciated humanoid and was nearly ten meters tall, which made the monstrosity blend perfectly well alongside the huge trees. Its torso was riddled with a handful of arrows, darts, spears, and bullet holes.

Its head, if you could even call it that, was just a short pole with a set of two large "megaphones" on each side, along with numerous fleshy wires that hung on the pole. Inside of each "megaphones" was its mouthes that have big, blocky, brittle teeth and damp gums that somewhat stuck out. Its breaths were rancid and pungent, yet mixed with a tinge of mintiness, akin to the stench of a rotting corpse.

The monster just... stood there. Impassive, cold, and seemed completely indifferent to its panic-stricken prey. The hapless agent frantically thrashed around in his futile attempt to escape. His heartbeat pounded like a jackhammer as adrenaline continued pumping through his body.

Marlon felt its grasp slightly loosen, a small glimmer of hope flashed before his eyes, and he then seized his moment.

He tugged and pulled his arms with every bit of strength he had, and eventually, his arm and weapon broke free from its clutches.

His eyes darted around its forelimb before he discerned a faint crack on its wrist.

He swung Macello with all of his might and a loud crackle rushed through his ears. Small fractures formed more around its wrist.

The Siren Head started slowly raising the Huntsman closer and closer to its eager jaws.

He then swung his weapon again, and again, and again. Deeper and recognizable cracks begin to appear as vicious orange sap seeped out of it.

He was now inches away from its ravenous maw, though he didn't stop swinging until-

There was a loud and sickening crunch...

. . .

. . .

. . .

The Siren Head let out a bloodcurdling and ear-splitting shriek that rang for miles in every direction. Orange sap poured out of its freshly amputated hand. As Marlon plummeted downwards, he outreached his arm, grabbed a big branch, pulled himself up and carefully stood on it, almost as light as a feather. The creature stopped its shrieks and it then blared out thunderous alarms and static. Marlon then quickly leaped from branch to branch as the being chased him with frightening speeds like that of a speeding car.

The ground shook intensely as it strode through the trees, reducing them into mere splinters in its pursuit of him. It then outstretched its lanky arm towards its target, and its limb continued stretching as if it were made of rubber.

Marlon then came across a massive withered tree in a small clearing that's dozens of meters apart from him. The tree had several crooked branches and one sturdy, long, spear-like branch in front of him. He began to devise a plan.

Once he was a few feet from it, he quickly readied himself as it drew closer. The arm was just inches away from the agent as it went nearer. He, with perfect timing, jumped to his left side and successfully landed on a nearby branch. The anomaly wasn't able to control its momentum, and the branch pierced straight through its palm. A grisly scrunch resonated as its hand bled.

The behemoth stumbled forward and drove its hand deeper into the branch, it let out once more a ghastly screech. Marlon saw this opportunity and was prepared to jump, until the monster clenched its fist and savagely yanked its arm out, tearing the branch apart and slightly uprooting the tree.

The Huntsman tensed up yet he remained unyielding. Marlon pressed a button on its hilt and his weapon whirred and buzzed softly. The cleaver then split itself up into several sections.

Marlon then waved Macello around like a heavy leash and swung it towards the hole in its hand. The sickle clung tightly to the Siren Head's hand and the giant then balled up its fist. Marlon tugged hard on his weapon, which made it stumble once again.

Once more, he had underestimated the beast's great strength.

The Siren Head violently pulled its limb and swung the agent to the opposite side. The sheer speed of it made him lose his grip and was then flung far into a tree. He slammed right into a branch, though fortunately, it wasn't enough to break it nor his Aura. He held onto it and glanced at the enranged monster, who was ready to tear through the living flesh that hung before it.

But it seems that luck was on his side today.

The tree, now rooted out, slowly leaned towards the anomaly. The timber then fell against it, pinning down both its arms and legs. The fiend struggled to lift the log and tried thrashing around to free itself yet to no avail.

From the far-off distance, Marlon could make out the mechanical humming and whirring of Bullheads. Four small Bullheads emerged from the horizon and hovered around the area, before descending onto the field. Within each ship, six individuals in full tactical gear hopped out of it. They then flanked the vulnerable giant, with various types of rifles pointed at it. The creature was perfectly still, almost like a statue, though its garbled "breathing" could still be heard.

Marlon felt a wave of relief wash over him, the overwhelming weight finally lifted off his shoulders, yet his heart continued pounding like crazy. He pulled himself up and sat on the branch. He then started chuckling, mixed in with heaving and coughing. He didn't know as to why he was doing it, all he knew was that he just had to.

A female wolf Faunus in the group spoke to her transmitter.

"Yankee-01 to TOC. Anomaly appears to be a tall bipedal entity that has... megaphones as its head? It seems to be incapacitated. Over." Only static blasted out of her transmitter.

"Yankee-01 to TOC. Do you copy? Over." There was no response.

"Damn it." She mumbled. She turned to face the twelve members that flanked its side.

"Aight. Yankee 9-A, we'll be securin' the area's parameter. We might get a signal farther away from here." She then turned to look at the other twelve members that flanked the opposite side.

"Yankee 9-B, remain in your positions and make sure that fucker doesn't bamboozle us. Understood?".

"Roger that." The squad replied.

Yankee 9-A then split off and advanced in opposing directions, two of them just happen to be walking near Marlon's tree.

"So uh... could our agent be close b-" His partner interrupted him.

"He's right up there, look." She pointed up towards the branch.

Marlon looked down at them. "Hey there boys, I'm just uh..." He paused momentarily.

"..hanging around?" He forced out a laugh. The two soldiers looked at him sternly.

Suddenly, the branch snapped in half, causing the courageous Huntsman to plunge down and land on his rear-end.

* * *

**A/N: Anyway, that's all for this chapter. A bit of an anti-climatic ending I know, but that'll do for now. Kinda surprised that it took me a month to finish this, though I might continue this**** depending on how well received this gets. And yes, RWBY and SCP characters will appear and some are gonna play important roles (or cameos) in future chapters, but that's all I'm gonna say.  
**

**I hope you all enjoyed this, leave your comments and critiques and I'll be seeing you all next time.**


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